CONRAD DIAS
Ranchi, Oct 8: South Africa will be looking to secure the ODI series in Ranchi on October 9 as they already have a 1-0 lead against the Indian team. As team India’s main players have already started to practice in Australia for the T20 world cup, a different set of players will be taking the field on Sunday in Jharkhand’s capital.
Addressing the media on Saturday, South African Spinner Keshav Maharaj addressed a few key points and said that Tabraiz Shamsi just had a day off in Lucknow and it is not a matter of concern as he is still their main bowler.
“I don’t think it is a matter of concern as we all know what he is capable of. Indian batters just had to target someone and he was one of them. I believe he bowled well that day and even picked up a crucial wicket at the back end of the innings,” Maharaj said.
Notably, Shamsi gave away 89 runs in the quota of eight overs during the Lucknow ODI on October 6.
Maharaj added that the team’s performance in the T20I series against India was not up to the mark they do require a bit of polishing in the shortest format of the game.
“I think we do need to polish a bit in the shortest format. The T20i series was not that bad except for the first game. Even in the second match, Miller and Quinton did take us till the end where we just fell short of a few runs. Batting in the third T20i was also good,” he said.
After a gap of three and a half years, Jharkhand State Cricket Association (JSCA) is hosting an ODI in Ranchi and the fans are really looking forward to it. As Saturday was the last do to buy tickets, there were long queues outside the ticket counter at JSCA stadium.
Team India will be looking forward to taking the field on Sunday’s must-win game with the support of Ranchi’s crowd. The team will be captained by Shikhar Dhawan and fans will be hoping to see the local boy Ishan Kishan score some big runs in tomorrow’s match.
